The Power Within
by DarkerLink
Summary: Link wakes up to find his princess gone, and goes on a quest to save her (again!) based after OOT
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Link woke up in a cold sweat, the repercussions of the voice echoing through his head. Panting slightly he lay back in his soft bed in the castle of Hyrule. Link closed his eyes and cast his mind back to his nightmare, to the voice that had spoken, not in anger but in anguish and pain. Realisation dawned upon him. As he had leant into the soft cuccu-feather bed he had placed his arm across his wife's side of the bed, yet had felt no resistance. Zelda was gone!

Link cast his mind back over the three years of marriage with his finicky wife. She was usually a late riser but he was sure that if there had been great need she would cave arisen before sunup. She must have had an early meeting to sort out such and such problem in the Land of Hyrule!

That settled in his mind, Link proceeded to change into his forest green tunic. This had caused uproar in the land as, like it or not, Link was a hero. His mode of dress had sparked a new fashion. That said, the new designs were garish to Link's eyes.

After changing, Link looked at his bag. There were so many items to choose from! All except…the Ocarina of Time! He tensed, then decided that Zelda must have taken it. After a moments thought he slung the master sword across his back and left the room shutting the doors quietly behind him.

As Link left the royal suite where he and Zelda lived, he was greeted by the guard Shiro who, despite Links entreaties, continued to guard their door. Link smiled, he had grown very close to this unassuming guard who patiently stood in the corridor outside their rooms.

Link began to walk toward the stairway leading to the castle proper when he half-turned and asked "Shiro, when did Zelda leave our chambers?"

Silence.

Shiro's honest face showed puzzlement. "No-one save yourself has left your chambers. Neither left nor entered…Wherever your wife is, she has not come out here…"

Link froze, and spun around, his face a careful blank. He stared at Shiro a few more seconds in which Shiro felt distinctly uncomfortable, then ran into the rooms. Once there he looked for any other way in which his wife could have left …the window!

Link ran to the window, fearing what he might find. As the faint breeze stirred the net curtains Link looked down at the courtyard below… and sighed in relief. There was nothing below.

Link stared unseeing a moment more then proceeded to ransack the apartments looking for something…anything which might help him find out where Zelda was. After a long search, so long that Link nearly despaired, he saw a small scrap of paper lying on the desk on top of all the sheets of numbers and complaints that Zelda studied daily. Link walked over to the desk and read the note. His heart fell.

The letter read;

My dearest Link, Hero of Time,

I regret to inform you that we have decided to take your wife, The Seventh Sage of Light, and use her as a bargaining chip in our quest for ultimate power. To put it simply, you have a choice. Either you sacrifice your wife to save your sorry skin, or you find your way to the Sacred Realm where we shall once again fight to decide who will become the supreme ruler of this realm. You have a month to decide and should you so choose, come to the sacred realm to fight.

Yours faithfully

Ganondorf Dragmire.

The letter fluttered from Link's hand as he stared into space in shock. From his mouth he emits one long noise full of anguish, sorrow and despair

"Nooooooooooo…"

With this scream the doors of their quarters were flung open and Impa, Sage of Spirit and Zelda's handmaiden rushed in to find Link kneeling on the floor as if praying, tears streaming in rivulets down his face. Noticing the discarded note Impa picked it up, read it…and all the blood was sucked from her face.

"Din, Nayru and Farore!"

By this time Link had risen to his feet his face set in a determined manner. Impa, recognising this, stood blocking the doorway.

"Don't be a fool! You're doing exactly what they want you to do!" Impa shouted, and then went on in a quieter tone "and besides, how would you get there?"

Despite all that Impa could do, Link would not listen. His pain and anger at the kidnap of his wife had caused a cold fury to run through his blood. To him there was no reason.

Link stared at Impa for a minute then continued in a cold whisper that could be heard in every corner of the room.

"I must."

Impa looked at Link and, realising if he got it into his mind to go nothing could stop him, stood aside from the door. Link left without a backward glance.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Link entered the royal stables unmolested, which surprised him, but he could not see his own face which radiated a sense of terrible purpose. He saddled Epona, who, sensing her masters anxiety, whinnied to go. Vaulting onto her back, Link jumped the gates of the stable and was away over Hyrule field.

Link felt free. This was the only place he truly belonged. He might lead a life of luxury at the Castle but it was a life of tedium and routine. In his free time (which was seldom enough) he had begun to teach swordplay to the children of the market until the guards of the city joined in. Link taught them also but realised he knew relatively little about wars and unarmed combat. He would then join the recruits in their training in these areas, however the others were in awe of the legendary Hero of Time, and with a sword in his hand, no-one could come even close to beating him. Link had an uncanny instinct about when to use which attack and besides, he was the only human to have ever mastered the Great fairies unstoppable spinning attack.

Epona reared, snapping Link out of his reverie. His thoughts elsewhere, Link and Epona had come to the river separating the road to Kakariko village and the rest of Hyrule. Kakariko… and Death Mountain.

Link closed his eyes for a moment and they snapped open, the call from his dream still resounding through his head.

"_Master"…._

A shadow flicked over Link's face and he looked up into the sky, shielding his eyes from the late evening glare with his left hand. Link could just make out a serpentile form twisting its way toward the volcanic crater where it had made its home. Volvagia.

_A lifetime ago Link had fought his way through the temple at the centre of the crater, to rescue his sworn brothers, the Gorons, from the evil Ganondorf had let loose on their peaceful civilisation. He stood now before the chamber where that evil was living, where Darunia had entered before him…and not returned! Opening the door with his key, Link entered a chamber with a small platform before him, and a larger one beyond, with what looked like pools of lava. Link jumped to the central platform and, as the platform behind slid into the lava below, a fiery head emerged from the central lava pool, with a mane of flame and crystal eyes devoid of all emotion._ _Volvagia._

Link's sapphire eyes traced Volvagia's path into the crater, hardening at the memory that had resurfaced. He ached to go to find Zelda but his mind replayed the horror that the Gorons had had to live through and anyway, he had no idea how he would get to the sacred realm. Toughening his resolve, Link dismounted Epona, thanked her, and ran up the steps to Kakariko Village.

Within the village he saw groups of people huddling inside their houses. When they saw Link they entreated him to take care of the demon-dragon that had appeared again over Death Mountain. Calming the villagers down he continued past the gate and followed the boulder strewn path leading up. Tektites jumped at him from all angles but Link just dodged them. Running into the Goron village, Link held his breath, fearing the worst…

_Not a single Goron was in sight, save that small childlike form rolling round the cavern in an endless cycle. There was no-one else. The once bustling centre full of my sworn brothers was now an empty shell. Link looked at the rolling child and wondered if there was a way to stop him, as he needed information…_

The cavern was full of Gorons! Relief hit him like a wave until he saw the numerous weapons each person carried. Sword, axe, hammer, spear, all were here, even a rusty farmers pitchfork! At the head of this mindless mob was his old friend, and Sage of Fire, Darunia. Darunia was speaking to the crowd.

"Let no brother leave the safety of their friends, and none leave this place with no good reason. All must…" The list drifted off as he saw Link.

Link jumped down the cavern, landing in a spectacular roll next to Darunia, who gave him the dreaded Goron hug which knocked the breath out of him.

Darunia laughed. "Sorry brother but it is so good to see you again, at our time of direst need."

"Volvagia?"

Darunia looked uncomfortable, and gazed with great fear in the direction of Death Mountain. This was all Link needed to see.

"I shall go."

All the Gorons looked at Link with such confidence at his quiet words that Link felt trapped by this blind faith, trapped from continuing his quest to save Zelda from Ganondorf. However the words were out of his mouth and he would not take them back, even where he able to.

Unable to stand a moment longer of this atmosphere Link headed towards the Death Mountain Temple through the secret entrance in Darunia's chamber. Towards Volvagia.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The sound of drums greets Link's ears as he enters the Temple, drums and the weird echo of a long distant choir. Link sat back and let the music flow through him into an awareness of all that within the room. Mounting the steps with infinite caution, his sword drawn and at the ready, Link turned left and entered the room he had seen what felt like an age ago. In front of him stood a door so wide that four could comfortably walk through abreast. Jumping lightly across to the door Link stood and looked at it, full in the knowledge that he may die, and then who would protect Zelda? He entered.

In the centre of the chamber, coiled and with the firelight flickering off his scaled hide, Volvagia awaited.

Volvagia had long hair of fire but on that body you could see the charred and scarred marks from his last battle with Link. The sinuous body looked contorted and bent, evidence of badly set broken bones. The scales seemed dimmer, almost as if a silver mist covered them, obscuring their vibrant colours.

The rest of the differences in Volvagia paled into insignificance against the changes in his eyes. The deep crystalline eyes seemed almost bloodshot but with a flush of golden yellow. Those emotionless eyes which had hidden everything and shown nothing now had a raw emotion burning through them. Pain.

As Link looked into those eyes he felt his soul flutter, his heart leap in sympathy. He felt an overwhelming sadness which caused him to realise that, in his heart of hearts, he could not do this to the fire serpent again.

Link knew also that he could not just give up so he drew his sword to defend himself. The sword hummed as it left its sheathe and with despair, Link held up the sword.

"_Master"…._

The words vibrated through his head that Link fell to his knees and, as his sword clattered at his feet, he pushed his hands against his ears, hoping that it would lessen the sound.

It didn't.

As crystal eyes met sapphire ones, the words _"heal me"_ swept through Link's mind. Immediately images flashed through his mind…

"_Now you have found that which was stolen from you I can return you to your true form. As I have promised…" The mask salesman seemed to light up in sadistic glee and jumped to the organ that filled the chamber in the Clock Tower. As he began to play and the sad melody swept over and through Link, he could feel the deku shrub, the hideously confining and humiliating deku shrub retreat into a vortex leading to …a mask. The mask clattered at Link's feet. "This tune will free any soul from corruption and pain. Do not forget this…"_

Link looked at Volvagia in despair. "My ocarina… Zelda has it…" Link's voice drifted off for he began to feel light-headed. His blood raced through his body, a tiger that was swallowing him whole. He could hear the organ of the mask salesman, or was he imagining it? Something inside him responded and the faint music of the ocarina joined the organ. The tune took form in the air and he could feel the tiger that was the music that was…

Time.

The music surrounded Link in a nimbus of light that grew brighter and brighter until Link shut his eyes to block out the blinding light but they then flicked open of their own accord because the light was in his eyes too. Link knew in his heart that if the light continued he would die so he took control of the pain, pulling it into his body until he throbbed with the power of it. The music was in his blood and was being pumped round his body till he was sure his heart would burst…

He laid a hand on a scaly hide.

The light burst out of him, channelling through him into Volvagia, where a flush of sapphire appeared in a hand shaped mark which spread across the serpents body.

The pressure lifted Link off his feet and hurled him to the other side of the room , as the cavern lit up blindingly.

Link groggily got up

"What was that?" he asked the air.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A deep rumbling resounded through the ground, echoing off the walls, building up into a shuddering, growling roar. Link turned to look at Volvagia but stopped.

It was not the crystal eye of Volvagia that looked back at Link, but a great golden eye, regarding him in a curiosity which belied the ages of wisdom that resided in the mind of the dragon.

And what a dragon it was! No longer the half-bred, serpent form of Volvagia wiry and snakelike, but a muscular, well-formed, fully fledged dragon. As its pearly hide shifted, colours danced and chased each other round, and wings of silvery-blue stretched out filling the room with splendour.

Link realised that the rumbling sound he had heard earlier, but a heartbeat ago, was not the sound of imminent collapse, but was filled with mirth.

"That? That was the power of healing." The dragon tilted his head to one side. "Unusual in one so young but not so surprising, given your past. And surely you have used it before?"

Mutely, Link could only shake his head. The dragon snorted in surprise.

"Well…that was an impressive show. Such power, so young…"

The Dragon drifted off into a reverie for such a long time Link was sure he was asleep.

"…Volvagia…"

Jolted out of his train of thought, the dragon looked sharply at Link. "Never call me by that name. It is the name of a slave, tied to his master by form and evil sorcery. My name is Shanu."

"…Shanu." Link whispered the name and thinking how the simple name could belong to such a majestic creature.

"But…"

Shanu's face stretched into a long grin. "Speak, for you have freed me and I owe you an enormous debt of gratitude, and am bound to you. Speak."

"Who freed you from the sacred realm?"

Link nervously watched Shanu for an adverse reaction but the dragon just looked at Link, his golden eyes glowing in the firelight. Shanu was silent for a moment and then said "…You did."

Link froze.

"Me? …But how?"

"You mean you did not intend to awaken me?"

Link answered honestly. "I have barely thought of you since I defeated Ganondorf."

Shanu looked fearfully towards the sky which opened up to them from the caverns roof. After a few minutes he looked back and Link found himself under fierce scrutiny. Shanu's expression turned Link to ice and he felt like a butterfly pierced to a board with a needle.

"You mean that the power is uncontrolled in you? That you have had no training?"

" No, but who could?"

Shanu regarded Link thoughtfully. "I see your point. However this may be catastrophic to us. Your power is the only thing that could…"

"Bring Ganondorf back." Link said dully.

Shanu's head whipped round to stare incriminatingly into Link's eyes. In the first show of emotion that Links had seen Shanu whispered dryly "…ho...how did you know?"

Link bowed his head.

"Zelda."

Shanu regarded him in sympathy, yet felt he needed more information. Cautiously he probed further. "Then?"

"He has taken her to the sacred realm in order to lure me there."

The tears that Link had held in for so long started to overflow and he knelt as if in prayer and let his heart sob.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Once Link had recovered his composure Shanu began to talk in earnest.

"Considering the circumstances we are in deep trouble. The gateway has been opened, with no blame attached, by you. We will need to find out what Ganondorf is planning and how his plot involves you, also we will need to prepare you through training and that requires a teacher. Yes, I feel the only way in which to prepare you is to call on Kaya."

"Kaya? Who, or what, is that?"

"She is the one who has complete control of her gift and, though in fact the potential of your gift may outshines her own, she is not a woman to take lightly. She dwells in the land of Termina to the south, and is more commonly known as Lulu."

"Lulu? I met her, she's from the Indigo-go's."

"Yes, the musical talent that you so obviously admire stems from the power which resided within her. That is why it was so imperative that she regain her voice for without an outlet for that power such as your ocarina, it cannot be released."

Link tried to reorder his thoughts but suddenly asked "But if I need a musical outlet and I did not have my ocarina when I healed you, then how did I heal you?"

"You must have been singing when you healed me."

Link thought back to those hectic moments and replied "No, I was not singing."

Eyes opened wide.

"You…you are sure?"

Link thought then nodded.

Shanu stared at Link with a mixture of surprise and worry. He seemed almost scared of Link and watched him with cold eyes.

"…Then …how…?" The dragon mused.

A hoarse voice issued from Shanu's throat, a voice with the power of the ages and of all life. It was the power of fate.

There will be one who comes to the land of need, who sings in the hearts and minds of the living without voice. Beware ye of ancient powers for a force the magnitude of your own lies on the horizon and will overpower you unless understanding comes from the heart, not anger.

The great dragon shook his head and looked at the young man that stood before him. Pain stood out in his eyes as he thought of what this prophesy meant. The young man, scarcely out of childhood, was to have a trial that may cost him his life, and there was nothing he could do for his saviour. A moment more of regarding and the dragon turned away, extending his neck out so that Link could climb up.

"Let's go find your wife"

Link climbed cautiously onto Shanu's back. Settling between the dragons wings he felt very small and insecure. With a rumbling "Are you ready?" from Shanu, the dragon lifted off. At first the muscle bunched uncomfortably between Link's legs but soon the rhythmic pulsing of the wing joints became insignificant as the excitement of the dragon ride took him over. Link felt exhilarated by the feel of cool fresh air whistling past his ears. The beating of Shanu's wings gave the flight a feeling of such power that Link felt he would burst in pride at the thought that he was sharing this magnificent freedom.

Over hills they did fly, leaving the great Death Mountain of Hyrule as a small speck on the horizon. The Zoran River became a small sliver of silver, emptying out into a small pool. The town of Hyrule was a little grey block from up there, the people seeming as dolls. Finally in comparison, the Desert where the Gerudo lived stretched out into the distance.

Soon they came across the land of Termina, a land where only those who were unhappy could find. The Clock tower rose towards them like a finger and yet it was the size of a finger, from so high above the land. The white-topped Snowhead was a cool but small hill and even the swamp's stagnant fragrance could not reach them in the air.

Shanu flew over the Great Bay and thrust out over the ocean. They flew and as far as the eye could see was the great vast sapphire of the sea stretched out below them. At this point Shanu turned his head around and began to speak, his flight not faltering for a second.

"I would advise that you hold on to your cap, Link, as the ride could get a little rough. In order to reach the Sacred Realm then we will need to fly faster and breach the walls of time. Hang on!"

Shanu turned up and flew, going faster and faster towards the setting sun, towards that fiery orb that hung in the sky. Wind whistled past Links elven ears and nothing else could be heard except the roar of air and Shanu mingling. Link's eyes could stand the pressure no more and, not caring what the dragon thought of him, he closed his eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"You can open your eyes now, young one"

Link obeyed, and gasped aloud at the beauty that beset him. There was a misty glow covering the area as though the clouds themselves had come down to see what was about to take place. There was no way that he could tell what time it was as the light merged into a grey twilight. Golden light spread through the mists, twining round like a cat eager to see its master, and colours swirled and spun in the pulsations. The flickering light concentrated around Link, but further ahead he could see that darkness was overcoming it, sucking it in like a black hole.

Link stepped off Shanu's scaly hide, dusty from the day's flight. There was no thanks enough that he could give to Shanu, for he had given him the greatest chance of all…the chance to save his wife.

Inside of Link, in the deepest recesses of his heart, there were two opposing forces fighting. There was one, the colour of fear, that asked why it was that he felt that it was up to him, why no-one else could do it, why me? It was an accident anyway! This fear threw at him the pain of his last battle with Ganondorf, the despair and the thanks that he got. He had grown up on that journey, and not just physically. He had matured more than he would have given the normal cycle of events, then in the moment of his final triumph he was condemned to the body of a child. Then he had been abandoned by his companion, Navi, and had to save another world from which he didn't hail. There he had fought for all the people of this world, yet was sent off without a word of thanks. Only then had he ventured back to Hyrule, back to the castle to be finally married to the princess who had banished him back in time! What was the point of fighting and what did it get you, except pain?

However there was another section him that argued. It was him who had, however unwittingly, opened the door for Ganondorf. He felt a deep, overriding sense of responsibility for all the problems that he may have caused, for the people of Hyrule, and for Zelda. His wife was paying for the mistake that he had made. In his entire journey, he had never once turned his back on someone in need, never lost his determination to do what was right. And he wouldn't start now!

There was only one person that could fight Ganondorf; only he could save the world. Only he could save his wife.

Determination coursed through him like new blood in his veins and he felt the light respond to his call. He would not fail. He could not fail!

The mists parted before him as he strode into the unknown. He never looked back, even when the dragon, his friend, bid him farewell. The area ahead became increasingly dark and gloomy, and the light seemed to gather closer in to Link, as if to protect him from the darkness. As he got closer, he could pick out a figure, a silhouette standing out, blacker than the black mists that gathered there. The light was sucked towards the figure, yet Link generated more and more light from the joys and determination that lay in his heart.

"So… you come."

Link gasped. There was no doubting that voice. The evilness radiated from it like the darkness radiated from the figures body. It was his arch-nemesis. It was the one who had driven him to the depth of despair, alone in a dying world. He had caused unimaginable pain and suffering to countless innocents. It was the one that had stolen his wife away from him. It was Ganondork.

There was a grinding of metal on metal as Link drew his sword. His eternal sword, that was with him from before the end of time and until the far reaches of eternity. The Master Sword.

Surprise sat frozen on Ganondorf's face. It was strange, almost pained expression as he beheld the sword that had banished him to the sacred realm in the first place. Link brandished the sword in front of his face. No change in expression came over the warlords face. Only after a minute did Link notice the dark stain that stemmed from his heart and spread through his breastplate that he realised that the shocked expression was not of his doing. Ganondorf, the Gerudo warlord, toppled forward like a sack of wet bricks. The green blood oozed out of the fallen enemy and settled into a pool around his body.

Behind him there was another shadow. This was where the light was disappearing to, the figure that was blacker than the night's sky, swallowing any stars. The shape was as Links, the muscular form the parallel of him, but the opposite. Where Link was light, he was darkness. Where Link was joy, he was sorrow. Where Link was life, he was death.

There was no word for the apparition, no name except that given to him during his fight - DarkLink. His shadow sword pulled out of the body before him with a sickening squelch. He held the sword up in Links face

"Surprised to see me?"


End file.
